Spare tire covers and accessories

ABSTRACT

A system of coverings for a rear mounted spare tire having a central backup camera such as the Jeep® is provided. The coverings including a hard cover with either a hard rim mount or a sewn on soft rim mount. The soft rim mount can have locking loops for a hidden cable lock. A multi-tiered face is both decorative and designed to protect the camera with a rubber framed window and built in awning. A soft cover option provides a two piece camera shield that is mounted into. The center of the soft cover with screws or the like. The front hood of the camera shield has an awning for the camera that does not obfuscate the view of the camera. Optional ornaments or brake lights can also be mounted onto the camera shield. The camera shield can be used without a tire cover for protection and mounting the ornament or light.

CROSS REFERENCE APPLICATION

This non-provisional application claims priority from provisionalapplication No. 62/690,558 filed Jun. 27, 2018 which is incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to protective covers for rear mountedspare tires having a centrally mounted backup camera.

BACKGROUND

Jeep® makes a prior art soft cover for a rear mounted spare tire havinga centrally mounted backup camera. The soft cover has a central holewith a sewn in one piece plastic sleeve to go over the camera. A pullcord must be grabbed by the user under the soft cover to release a pinthat snaps into a hole in the camera housing. No provision is made tosecure decorative signage to the Jeep® one piece sleeve to decorate thelarge central area of the cover of the spare tire.

U.S. Pat. No. 9,227,678 (2016) to Bolton discloses a Jeep® rear tirecover made of solid plastic or metal and includes a key lock to preventaccess to the tire bolts. No provision for a central backup camera isdisclosed.

What is needed in the art is a protective (plastic) sleeve that goesover the central mounted backup camera that is easily attached to a softcover, that can hold a sign, and that can be used alone, without acover, to mount a decorative sign on. A hard cover is also needed with acentral awning for the camera that does not interfere with the field ofview of the camera. The present invention encompasses all these needsand more.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The main aspect of the present invention is to provide a two piececamera shield that can function as an anchor for a soft cover and a signor light holder, and be used without any cover on a rear mounted sparetire.

Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a hard cover forthe rear mounted spare tire with either a hard rim anchor or a soft sewnon peripheral anchor. The hard cover having a sloped center section witha soft camera window that does not reduce the camera field of vision.

Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a key lock on thehard cover with the hard circular anchor embodiment.

Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a strap and cablelock on a hard cover to lock the cover to the tire.

Other aspects of this invention will appear from the followingdescription and appended claims, reference being made to theaccompanying drawings forming a part of this specification wherein likereference characters designate corresponding parts in the several views.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of the camera shield.

FIG. 2 is a left side elevation view of the camera shield.

FIG. 3 is a bottom plan view of the camera shield.

FIG. 4 is a rear perspective view of the camera shield.

FIG. 5 is a rear elevation view of the camera shield.

FIG. 6 is a front elevation view of the camera shield.

FIG. 7 is a bottom plan view of the camera shield.

FIG. 8 is a front perspective view of the camera shield mounted to asoft tire cover and supporting a star shaped decoration.

FIG. 9 is an exploded view of the FIG. 8 embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a side perspective view of the camera shield mounted on acamera.

FIG. 11 is a front perspective view of a hard tire cover for a rearspare.

FIG. 12 is a rear elevation view of the FIG. 11 embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a front elevation view of the FIG. 11 embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a rear perspective view of the FIG. 11 embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a right side elevation view of the FIG. 11 embodiment, a leftside elevation view being a mirror image thereof;

FIG. 16 is a cross sectional view taken along line 16-16 of FIG. 13;

FIG. 17 is a right side perspective view of the FIG. 11 embodiment.

FIG. 18 is a front perspective view of an installation of a hard coverwith a hard circular rim.

FIG. 19 is a front perspective view of the FIG. 18 installation showingthe open clamp.

FIG. 20 is a front perspective view of an installation of a hard coverhaving a sewn on soft wrap.

FIG. 21 is a front perspective view of the completed installation shownin FIG. 20.

FIG. 22 is an exploded view of a hard cover with locking straps.

FIG. 23 is a top plan view of a variety of ornaments and lights that canmount on the camera shield of FIG. 1.

Before explaining the disclosed embodiments in detail, it is to beunderstood that the embodiments are not limited in application to thedetails of the particular arrangements shown, since other embodimentsare possible. Also, the terminology used herein is for the purpose ofdescription and not of limitation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Referring first to FIGS. 1-10 a camera shield 1 has a front hood 2 thathas an awning 3 to protect the camera 4. A gasket 5 can be installedbehind a soft tire cover 90, thus forming a gap G between the gasket 5rear surface RS of the rim 2R of the front hood 2. See FIGS. 8,9. FIGS.8,9 also show an ornament 91 mounted under the rear surface RS of therim 2R. FIG. 22 shows the infinite styles of ornaments and/or lightsthat can be an ornament 91 shown in FIG. 8.

A (plastic) base 10 mounts to the front hood 2 with screws 95 shown inFIG. 9. The base 10 has bosses 11 with holes 130 through the rim 10R ofthe base 10. The camera window is labeled 14. The base 10 is cylindricaland sized to fit around the prior art camera. The bottom of the base 10may have a slot SL in which is mounted a (plastic) spring 15 that ispart of rim 10R with a union 16. A knob 17 can snap into a hole in theprior art camera. Plastic mold reinforcements 18 are optional.

As shown in FIG. 5 the gasket 5 may extend to a circular ridge R asshown by lines 50, and have cutouts cut to accommodate the bosses 11.The hood 2 has (plastic) cylindrical posts 110, shown in FIGS. 2,3,4that fit into the bosses 11, holes 130 and receive a screw 9. Posts 110may have self-threading screw holes. The camera in FIG. 9 is labeledCAM.

The camera shield 1 has several functions. First as shown in FIG. 10 itcan just slip onto the camera CAM as a protector, wherein the camera CAMdoes project outwards from the wheel WH.

Second an ornament including a brake light 910 or a star 91 can bemounted between the base 10 and the hood 2. Third the soft cover 90shown in FIGS. 8,9 has a hole for the camera CAM. The hood 2 can beinstalled on the outside of the soft cover 90, and the base 10 isscrewed in from the rear of the soft cover 90.

Fourth, as shown in FIG. 8, an ornament 91 or a light 910 can be addedto the soft cover installation.

Referring next to FIG. 23 a variety of ornaments including a star 91 areshown. Each can be mounted to the camera shield 1. A brake light 910,911,912 can also be mounted to the camera shield 1. Other decorationsare shown as items 92,93.

Referring next to FIGS. 11-22 a hard (plastic) cover 1000 is shown forrear mounted spare tires having a central backup camera such as Jeep®. Around peripheral lip 1001 is sized to fit around the spare tire ST andcover a portion of the outermost tread TR as shown in FIG. 18.

Working inward from the peripheral lip 1001 is a flat plateau 1002. Nextinward is a rising transition 1003 slanting inward toward a center C.Next inward is a central flat plateau 1004. The top of the hard cover1000 is labeled TOP.

Just above the center C the central flat plateau 1004 descends a ridge1005 so as to place the camera window 1006 over the camera CAM as shownin FIG. 12 in dotted lines. Then from the bottom of the ridge 1005,labeled BR, sloping outbound in a semi-circular pattern is thetransition slope 1007. The length of the bottom of the ridge BR isnominally about 20% to about 40% of the width of the hard cover 1000.

In FIGS. 18,19 the user's hands and arms are labeled U. The hard plasticrim 1700 is prior art as is the female latch 1701 and the male tongue1702. The hook 1703 latches into a selected slot on the tongue 1702. Thecombination of the hard cover 1000 with the rim 1700 is a newcombination. The latch assembly 1701, 1702, 1703 can be locked in aknown manner to prevent removal of the hard cover 1000.

In FIG. 14 a (one piece molded rubber) camera cover CAMCOV can be seen.The camera cover has a peripheral edge PE that protrudes outside thecamera window 1006. See FIG. 11. Under the peripheral edge PE is agroove which accommodates the hard plastic rectangular edges of thecamera window 1006. Then a cylindrical body CB (a soft rubber) encirclesthe camera.

Referring next to FIGS. 20,21 the hard cover 1000 can be installed ontothe spare tire ST using a sewn on soft rim SF. The soft rim SF ispreferably a non-woven polyester backed vinyl to prevent tire oils fromseeping through. The user U first places the hard cover 1000 over thespare tire ST and camera CAM. Then the soft cover SF is pulled over thespare tire ST. An elastic band 1950 is sewn into a circular pocket 1901of the soft rim Sf. Stitches 1902 are used to sew the soft rim SF to thelip 1001 of the hard cover 1000. The camera window 1006 is shown to havea soft rubber frame 1006S.

In FIG. 22 a hard cover assembly 2200 consists of a hard cover 1000 withan optional inner cover 2201. The optional soft inner cover 2201 is usedto protect any painted surface on the inside back of the hard cover1000. The lock loops 2202 are sewn into the soft rim SF.

After the soft rim SF is installed, the lock loops receive a cable 2203,as shown by arrow PT1, that is then inserted through the wheel W, asshown by arrow PT2. Then the cable 2203 is locked with lock 2204.

While a number of exemplifying features and embodiments have beendiscussed above, those of skill in the art will recognize certainmodifications, permutations, additions and subcombinations thereof. Nolimitation with respect to the specific embodiments disclosed herein isintended or should be inferred.

What is claimed is:
 1. A protection system for a camera that is mountedto extend through a center of a rear mounted spare tire on a vehicle,the protection system comprising: a front hood sized to fit around afront face of the camera; the front hood having a camera window; thefront hood having an awning extending outbound over a top of the camera;a separable cylindrical base sized to fit around a base of the camera;at least one fastener removably connecting the separable cylindricalbase from the front hood; an intervening member fastened between thefront hood and the separable cylindrical base; and the interveningmember selected from a group consisting of washer, a soft tire cover, ahard tire cover, an ornament and a light.
 2. The protection system ofclaim 1, wherein the separable cylindrical base further comprises aspring catch to engage the camera.
 3. The protection system of claim 1,wherein the fastener further comprises a boss in the separablecylindrical base with a hole and a screw therethrough connecting intothe front hood.
 4. The protection system of claim 1, wherein theintervening member further comprises a soft cover having a pair oflocking straps and a cable with a lock.
 5. The protection system ofclaim 1, wherein the intervening member further comprises a brake light.6. The protection system of claim 1, wherein the intervening memberfurther comprises a soft tire cover and a washer.
 7. The protectionsystem of claim 6, wherein the washer is affixed between the soft tirecover and the separable cylindrical base.
 8. An improvement to a reartire mounted on a rear of a vehicle, wherein a backup camera protrudesfrom a center of the rear tire from a mount, the improvement comprising:a tire cover mounted over the spare tire and having a center hole forthe backup camera to extend therethrough; a front hood mounted aroundthe camera on top of the tire cover and having a camera window; thefront hood having an awning projecting outbound over the camera; a rearbase mounted around the camera behind the tire cover; and at least onefastener connecting the rear base to the front hood.
 9. The improvementof claim 8 further comprising a washer fitted under the front hood andon top of the rear base.
 10. The improvement of claim 8, wherein thetire cover is a soft cover.
 11. The improvement of claim 10, wherein thesoft cover further comprises a pair of locking straps, a cable and alock.
 12. The improvement of claim 8, wherein the at least one fastenerfurther comprises a boss in the rear base with a hole and a screwtherethrough connecting into the front hood.
 13. The improvement ofclaim 8, wherein the rear base further comprises a spring clip fastenerto engage the camera.
 14. The improvement of claim 12 further comprisingan ornament secured between the front hood and the rear base on top ofthe soft cover.
 15. The improvement of claim 12 further comprising abrake light secured between the front hood and the rear base on top ofthe soft cover.
 16. The improvement of claim 10, wherein the at leastone fastener further comprises a boss in the rear base with a hole and ascrew therethrough connecting into the front hood.
 17. The improvementof claim 16 further comprising a washer secured under the front hood andbehind the soft cover.
 18. The improvement of claim 9 further comprisingan ornament secured on top of the tire cover under the front hood. 19.The improvement of claim 9, wherein the rear base further comprises aclip to engage the camera.
 20. A hard cover for a rear mounted sparetire on a vehicle having a backup camera protruding through a center ofthe spare tire, the hard cover comprising: a round peripheral lip sizedto fit around the spare tire and a portion of the outermost tread; aflat plateau extending inward from the round peripheral lip; an inwardrising transition slanting inward over a hole for the camera and havinga camera window; an elastomeric frame connected inside the camera windowto surround the camera; and the elastomeric frame having a rearwardextending cylindrical body to encircle the camera.